Words: Shane Ferro
Photographs: Daghan Perker

My fifth cyclocross race ever was the day after a freak October snowstorm in the fall of 2011. I was 22, and first dipping my toe in the waters of CX. That Sunday it was 60 or so degrees, turning the foot of snow on the ground into slush, then, eventually, deep mud.

I got 20th out of 25 in the women’s 3/4 race, nearly nine minutes back on the winner, Abigail Isolada. It was my best result to date. There was something about crunching through the melty snow and splashing in the deep mud that was satisfying to me. I ended the race totally frozen, with no idea how to get any of the mud off me or my bike, but with the biggest smile on my face.

This past weekend, my 8th year at HPCX, I once again reveled in the thin, splashy mud. I know enough now to love mud like that. Mud that makes a course tricky without forcing you into a running race. Despite getting into a fight with a plastic stake and nearly losing, I got 17th in the UCI elite race — my best UCI finish to date. It was enough to put me on the board in the Pro CX standings!

This race is great. It’s not just because it reminds me of how far I’ve come — it’s an objectively fun time.

HPCX is infused with Big Collegiate Energy. It is put on by the Rutgers Cycling Team, and has the homeyness of the collegiate road races of my youth. It ticks the boxes of a UCI race: the course is variable and difficult, the officials are great, the timing is professional, things run on time, there are food trucks (when the weather isn’t crap), and plenty of bikewash stations (for when the weather is crap). But it also feels more casual and comfy than other UCI races on the East coast. Everybody hangs out and watches the race from the parking lot. There’s a bucket of free beer near the reg table. This year, there was a bowl of Halloween candy up for grabs by the podium.

Much more fun than my own race was cheering on my friends. By the end of the day, when most of the TBD men raced, the sun had come out and the mud was getting just a little bit thick. The 2/3 men raced after both elite fields, so they got the fully deteriorated course. True slop. The off cambers that had been tricky but rideable an hour or two earlier were forced runs. The Belgian-stairs-to-long-climb section, which was a demoralizing slog in my race (see the photo below: the look of terror in my face after running the stairs, as I prepare to remount and continue climbing) was just barely rideable slop. The heckling was good.

What I’m saying is HPCX is the best local UCI race around. It’s a great time. Come out and join us next year.